NumbersGuy

Why Bush Doesn't Like Cap-and-Trade

You know it's almost surreal that people continue to deny that we're impacting the environment by pumping all this carbon into the air. But I'm not going to change anyone's mind on that topic and it really doesn't matter.

I could also talk about Peak Oil and point out that we need to wean our economy from oil for that reason. But that could lead to a counter productive argument as well.

So let's ust look at oil prices as they are today. Are they jumping because the dollar has risen or because Peak Oil is upon us and demand for oil continues to grow from Asia and other developing areas? Probably it's all three of those things and it doesn't matter really, because the prices are what they are.

So what are we going to do about it? We need to use energy more efficiently or the economy will be brought to its knees. How do we make that happen? A Cap and Trade System or an Energy Tax seem to be the two ideas on the table right now. We need to do that to remain competitive regardless of what you think about climate change or peak oil. That's a fact on the ground that we must deal with.

I prefer a tax as it's more "efficient" but that might not be politically feasible. So cap and trade is likely part of our future. Either works for me because it incentivizes people and businesses to use energy more efficiently which saves money and makes us more competitive. And that's a good thing, right? No matter what you think of the politics?